Read Online Blood Deep (Blackthorn Book 4) by Lindsay J Pryor - Free Book Online

other.’
    ‘What about the third species? Do you get many problems with them?’
    ‘Not much. They stick to their own turf, west and east. The lycans tend to stick to the north. If you’re smart you’ll stay out of their territories, especially the hub. They don’t take much to our markings.’ She indicated towards the density beyond. ‘That’s the party end. You’ll find whatever you want down there. And in the floors above it. It can get rough in some of the end rooms, so know what you’re getting into. Are you a watcher or a participator?’
    ‘Depends on the show.’
    She laughed; tongued her upper teeth fleetingly. ‘Be warned, I have ways of calling your bluff. So does Pummel.’
    ‘And me yours.’
    She smiled. She pondered for a moment as she searched his gaze. ‘I think I’m going to like you.’ She caught hold of the buckle on his jeans and led him up the poorly lit stairs. ‘So you’re new in Blackthorn?’
    ‘Yeah.’
    ‘But you’re not from this locale?’
    ‘I am. I was extradited to a pen in another.’
    ‘You must be a bad boy.’
    ‘I just have a problem with being told what to do.’
    ‘You’re going to have to work on that if you plan on sticking around here. Pummel has rules.’
    ‘Like what?’
    ‘It’s each to their own around here. Pummel’s strict about that. He also keeps his nearest and dearest closest. The further along this end of the row you are, the more relevant you are. As you now know, Pummel and Homer’s quarters are on the other side of this wall,’ she said, cocking her head to the left. ‘You don’t go up there. The lounge will be fine though, as is the kitchen.’
    Turning left into the small recess, she unlocked the door to the right and stepped inside.
    The room was no more basic than he’d expected. The double bed was shoved up against the wall in the top right-hand corner, the small window directly ahead casting minimal light on the foot of it. The duvet was flat, the pillows misshapen. Ahead was a small double wardrobe. Another door was in the corner directly to his right.
    Wandering over to take a look inside, he was met with an outdated en suite. It was mouldy, dark, dank, no curtain on the tiny dark-green plastic shower enclosure tucked behind the door. But at least it had a toilet and a sink. Like so many of the larger houses in that area, it had once been converted into a bed and breakfast or guesthouse. He switched on the extractor fan which remained silent.
    ‘You got lucky,’ Tatum announced. ‘There aren’t that many rooms that come with an en suite. Anything that’s in here is yours.’
    ‘Unless I want to ask permission from a corpse, right? What happened to him?’
    ‘He got beaten up behind the courtyards last night. Someone broke his neck.’
    Eden looked back around. Suddenly he didn’t feel so bad. ‘Like you said, lucky for me.’ He stepped over to the sash window and slid it up to look at the brick wall of another building beyond the alley, the row of small courtyards below.
    ‘I’ll get the bedding changed for you and get someone to give the room the once over,’ she said. ‘Help yourself to Tracker’s clothes for now, but you’ll be able to afford your own soon enough if you stay in with Pummel.’ She eased up onto the four-drawer chest beside the bed. She crossed one shapely leg over the other as she reached for the cigarettes and lighter that had been left there. ‘So what are you going to offer him?’
    ‘What does he value most?’
    ‘Knowing the area,’ she said. Placing a cigarette between her full lips, she lit up. She cast the lighter on the table beside her, inhaled steadily before resting her arm on her knee as she drew it against her chest, the smoke twirling into the air. ‘Affiliations with the third species or witches could be useful. Getting your hands on goods. Contacts who can get things across the border – smokes, alcohol, the good stuff though, not the crap they shift in.’ She exhaled